GWR Iron Duke Class

The GWR Iron Duke Class was a class of 4-2-2 broad gauge steam locomotives built for express passenger work on the Great Western Railway, whose broad gauge had a rail spacing of just over seven feet. The prototype, Great Western, was built in April 1846 as a 2-2-2 and soon converted to a 4-2-2, and the rest of the class entered service from April 1847. The engines were recorded at 78.2 mph and hauled the Flying Dutchman, for decades the fastest express train in the world. From about 1865 the class was known as the Alma Class, and later locomotives of similar design are called the Rover Class. The last original, Lord of the Isles, was scrapped in 1906, and the remaining engines were withdrawn when the broad gauge ended in May 1892.